Moose, Golden Eagle, Rough Legged Hawk , Muley bucks (20131211) Elk hunting turns into moose hunting.

As I have a late season Elk tag I have been waiting for the weather to warm up a little before heading out to the area we hunt. This morning was looking good until I got on the road and noted the heavy and constant winds blowing snow producing drifts everywhere. I arrived when I expected, but the winds had not abated, I got dressed and headed in for the morning. I soon discovered the depth of the snow would be prohibitative to me getting to where I wanted to go. I had flushed up several Whitetail Does, and after about 40 minutes I turned around. When I go hunting I ususally throw my old camera and zoom lens into the bag, just in case. I thought that I would take a little cruise and see if there were any other critters out. I went just up the road and found these two nice mature bull Moose.

As they trotted off I grabbed some shots and found it interesting to see how low these monsters will drop their head to move through the trees and brush. This is the bigger bull.

After I had gone furthere in the road and turned around and was coming back out, I spotted this cow just before she crossed the road. She was on the trot up the hill to head back into the cover.

It was great to see these great amimals survive this year's hunting season. On the drive home I was on the phone (handsfree) with Dan, and spotted 3 different Bald Eagles, all soaring on the wind.  I had to end the call abruptly as this Golden Eagle came into view, and I wanted to stop and grab a couple of images.

So the day was turning into a cruising success. My next camera target was this Rough Legged Hawk, one of four that I found on the morning, this was the only one that was accessible.

As you can see we are entering our "Black and White" season where colour is at an abslute premium. This is one of the reasons we hunt out those birds in the winter that possess a little red, yellow, or blue to break up the monotony.  Mule deer certainly do nothing to add to the colours, but they are still great subjects.

There were 4 bucks hanging out together here, with 3 or 4 Does not very far away. I thought I would throw in a shot of the future of the herd.

So a morning that started as a disappointment due to weather and conditions, turned out to be a great day for opportunities of photographic subjects. It just goes to show that everyday that you walk your door in Alberta you have significant opportunity to find something to "shoot", come to Calgary and I will show you!
Turbo